Writer’s block and getting started

A writer’s block is the feeling of being unable to write. It is different from writer’s cramp, which is stiffness of the hand caused by writing for a long time. Three different kinds of block have been diagnosed: physical, procedural and psychological (Smith, 1982). Beard and Hartley (1984:258) have neatly summarised the main differences:

Physical blocks occur when the writer is tired and it just becomes too much of an effort, to continue. Procedural blocks occur when the writer cannot decide what to write next. Psychological blocks occur when the words should come, and could come, but the writer cannot bring himself or herself to let the words appear on the paper.

One of the main difficulties in writing for native speakers of English is the process of ‘getting started’. A questionnaire was sent to academics at a university in England and one in Canada by Hartley and Knapper (1984:158). They posed the question ‘What do you like least about writing?’ A common response was: ‘Writing the first paragraph’. Hartley and Knapper commented that ‘Almost every respondent confessed to experiencing writer’s blocks’.

If writing the first paragraph presents difficulties for native speakers of English, the problem for non-native speakers of English must be at least as great. This was confirmed by Jordan (1993:75) who conducted a survey by questionnaire of overseas students studying at a British university. Based on their experience in their own countries when writing a paper, 67% of the students admitted to having difficulty in starting.

Various suggestions have been made to overcome the problem of ‘getting started’ in writing. One fairly common one is to begin by simply jotting down ideas or notes on paper (Hartley and Knapper, 1984; Northedge, 1990). In other words, to get what you want to say down on paper as quickly as possible. ‘Editing, polishing, changing, resequencing and the like can be left until later. At this stage it does not matter if sentences are incomplete.’ (Beard and Hartley, 1984:253)

References

Beard, R.M. and J. Hartley (1984: 4th ed.). Teaching and Learning in Higher Education. London: Harper and Row.

Hartley, J. and C.K. Knapper (1984). Academics and their Writing. Studies in Higher Education, 9(2).

Jordan, R.R. (1993). Study Skills: Experience and Expectations. In CM. Blue (Ed.) Language, Learning and Success: Studying through English. Developments in ELT. London: Macmillan, Modern English Teacher and the British Council.

Northedge, A. (1990). The Good Study Guide. Milton Keynes: The Open University.

Smith, F. (1982). Writing and the Writer. London: Heinemann Educational.

3.13. There are a number of errors in the bibliography or list of references below. These may be to do with the order of items or the omission of some details. Mark the places where the errors occur and then write a description of the error and what is needed to correct it.

1. Abbott, G. (1981). Encouraging communication in English: a paradox. ELT Journal. 2. James, K. (1984a). The writing of theses by speakers of English as a Foreign Language: the results of a case study. In R. Williams, J. Swales and J. Kirkman (Eds.). Common ground: shared interests in ESP and communication studies. ELT documents: 117. 3. James (1984b). Speak to Learn. 4. McDonough, J. (1984). ESP in Perspective: A Practical Guide. Collins ELT: London. 5. Mackay, R. & A. Mountford (Eds.) (1978). English for Specific Purposes. London: Longman. 6. Zamel, V. Responding to student writing. TESOL Quarterly, 19 (1). 7. Swales, J.M. (1995). The role of the textbook in EAP writing research. English for Specific Purposes, 14 (1). 8. Swales, J.M. and C.B. Feak (1994). Academic Writing for Graduate Students. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.

3.14. Read the passage below and answer the questions:

1. From how many different sources are direct quotations made?

2. From how many different sources are paraphrases made?

3. What helps to introduce quotations and paraphrases?

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